Description
The 2016 edition of the BECH Index confirms that world demand for information technology is on the move. The Americas have experienced a decline in the period (2014-2016) due to a drop in demand from all countries in North, South & Central America. Europe continues to lose its share of global demand although the decline is somewhat slower than in the Americas. Nevertheless, North America and Europe continue to be very interesting areas with some of the biggest markets in the world and because of increasing labor costs and public expenditure there is a growing need for information analytics, process and cost optimization information technology based solutions. The slight decline in the Middle East has most likely been affected by the changes in the oil prices experienced lately and we should expect some further decline here in the 2017 figures. Future growth in the Middle East will require a restructuring of the economies away from the dependency on oil and gas. China continues its growth and has consolidated its position as the second largest information technology market in the world.